Minor Demons (2 page)

The second trial was called the death pit. Two demons went in and one emerged a victor. Demons were allowed to kill their opponent, but the match was officially won when a demon incapacitated his opponent. Single elimination – no second chances.

The final trial was tempting a simulated human in a simulated earth-like environment. Points were scored based on what the demon could get the human to do and how much chaos he could cause as a result.

Time passed on and while the earth became more and more corrupted, Hell brought forth a new generation of demons that would have to bring humanity to an even lower level to keep Hell supplied with sufficiently corrupted souls. All hope rested with the next group of demons-in-training.

T
he day had finally come.

Shadow hopped out of bed and made his way slowly to the fridge. He grabbed the last remains of the soul of a drug dealer and downed it in one gulp. While his hunger didn’t fully dissipate, he was lucky he had food at all with the current soul shortage in Hell, and too much was on his mind today to worry about taste. He had been waiting a long time to finally get this chance.

Demon placement.

Shadow returned to his room and opened his closet. He had to look his best and find the most intimidating outfit possible for his first day. He put on his father’s old, red cloak. He found his skull helmet with the least amount of damage and placed it on his head. Those choices were easy but the final item he carried with him would make a statement more than anything else. His hand paused as he reached in to grab a weapon. It was obvious which one would make an impression. His uncle had given him a scythe on his last birthday. While it would surely be the envy of his entire class, Shadow knew he shouldn’t have it. Demons-in-training shouldn’t have a weapon that was generally only gifted to major demons. He was about to choose something else when his mother came in the room.

“Look at you. You look exactly like a smaller version of your father.”

“I can’t decide on a weapon.”

“Go with your uncle’s scythe. No one else will have one.”

“I’M not supposed to have one.”

“Your uncle is the demon of murder and he doesn’t have a son to give things to. You should show him your respect and carry it with you.”

“He’s not my dad. My dad is in the lowest circle of Hell.”

“And your uncle has tried to get him out for years. You have your father’s cloak and you should carry your uncle’s scythe.”

“I don’t want to coast on his reputation. I want to be my own version of badass.”

“And wielding a scythe is going to prevent you from doing that?”

Shadow sighed and then reached back in his closet to pull out the scythe. He could feel the power resonating from it. His mother was right; none of the demons-in-training would have a weapon like this – not even his instructor.

“You look... so much like your father...”

Shadow could tell the tears were about to come. He decided to distract her.

“So, can I get some advice? I would normally ask Uncle Cain but I’m sure he’s busy at the moment.”

Shadow gave his mother a half-crooked smile and his mother smiled.

“If you don’t get recruited right away and become a minor demon, that’s ok. Just study and work hard and you’ll get there eventually. Most demons don’t become minor demons after the three trials. Just do your best.”

“Is it a real human that they let you tempt in the third trial?”

“No. Not anymore.”

“Was it a real human you tempted when you entered the third trial?”

“The only one I tempted on my first few days was your father.”

She winked.

“Mom, that’s disgusting.”

She laughed and Shadow regretted asking her for advice.

“Take in all you can from the trials. If you make friends with the other demons, make sure they see you as the leader. I want you to become a minor demon as fast as you can so you have a chance to move up when other spots become... vacant.”

“There’s no need to worry, Mom. I’ll be a minor demon in no time. You know how hard I’ve trained.”

“Yes, Shadow, I know but don’t get overconfident. Oh, I almost forgot.”

She left the room and came back with a piece of paper.

“Your uncle wasn’t too busy to leave you this. Read it out loud; I want to hear.”

“
Shadow,

So it’s finally your time. You better make me proud. I’m going to check in and see how it went so I expect you to start plenty of fights with the other demons. No flying under the radar today. I want you to find the demon that you think has the most potential (other than you) and I want you to put him in his place. If you’re going to make friends, make sure they’re demons that you can control. I want you to take the scythe I gave you to the trials and if I find out you didn’t... I will drop in and murder you myself. Remember our deal, Shadow.

Your uncle,

General Cain

The Demon of Murder
”

“So uncle wants me to walk in like I own the place? Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You have a few minutes before you need to get going. Let’s see you swing the scythe.”

Shadow took the scythe in both hands, swung it over his head, and brought it down hard on the floor. The room shook and his bed caught on fire.

“Holy shit, Mom. This thing rocks!”

“I just wanted to see if you could lift it. Don’t play around with it when you’re supposed to be listening later.”

“Mom, it feels like it’s slowly welding itself to my hands! It has so much power! I can’t wait to reap souls with this thing!”

“Plenty of time to play with that later. It’s time to get going. Make me proud!”

“I will.”

––––––––

S
hadow was ecstatic as he walked out the door. He had never felt such power and now he thought he understood a little of what it felt to be an addict. No wonder drug addicts keep going back for the high. Shadow was so preoccupied with unwinding from the rush of power that he walked right into another demon-in-training on his way to demon placement.

“Hey! Get the hell out of my way!”

“Kiss my ass! You need to watch where the hell you’re...”

The other demon paused as his eyes rested on Shadow’s scythe.

“Shit... is that thing real?”

Shadow brought the bottom end of the scythe down on the ground. The tremors tore through the ground and knocked the other demon’s legs out from under him. He stared up at Shadow in awe mixed with a moderate amount of fear. Shadow reached his hand out and pulled the demon to his feet.

“Still think I need to watch where I’m going?”

“So you must be Shadow. My dad told me you’re General Cain’s nephew and that he gave you a scythe a few days ago. Must be nice to have family in power like that.”

“Sounds like you know of me. Who the hell are you?”

“The name is Leech.”

“Who’s your dad?”

“One of the minor demons in charge of muggings. He reports to demons that report to your uncle. He didn’t even have enough money to get me a decent weapon or helmet... and this cloak is a piece of shit.”

Shadow noticed that Leech had no skull helmet and no weapon. The cloak he wore was dark brown with a few holes and patches scattered across it. He was also on the smaller side for a demon. This was one demon in his class that he would never have to worry about. He was likely to stay a minor demon forever, just like his father had.

“So you don’t even have a weapon?”

“No, I have one. I said they couldn’t get me a
decent
weapon.”

Leech reached into his cloak and pulled out a dagger made from a human femur bone that had been sharpened to a lethal-looking point. Some attempt had been made to smooth out a handle but the entire weapon looked fairly crude.

“It’s nothing like a scythe and I’m already planning on getting tormented by everyone else. I just hope you’re willing to... forget this whole thing?”

Leech forced a frightened smile. He seemed to possess a small amount of confidence and bravery but he clearly recognized Shadow as his superior. He clearly knew the order of things. Shadow saw in him the potential to have a very strong minion.

“I’ll give you a chance to make this up to me. My uncle wants me to find a potential rival today and put him in his place.”

“Oh I don’t think I’d make a very good rival for you.”

“Shut up.”

“K.”

“What I was going to say is that you’re likely to get picked on. The first time it happens, I want you to tell the bully that Shadow is going to kick his ass and then show him who I am. Can you do that?”

“And if I do this for you, I get a free pass? You’ll forget that I was about to stand up to you?”

“Even better. If you do this for me, I’ll let you in my posse. NO ONE will pick on you... except maybe me when I get bored.”

Leech smiled and extended his hand.

“You’ve got a deal, Shady.”

“Leech?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t call me Shady ever again.”

Shadow took Leech’s hand and they shook on their deal.

––––––––

T
he rest of the way to demon training was mostly uneventful. Leech showed Shadow a side trail where they could pass by humans in the process of being tortured. They both decided to throw rocks at them for a few minutes. Demons never pitied humans, even those who were already damned. They would have continued for a bit longer but the torturing demons turned on them and started to walk in their direction. This provided a moment of respite for the damned human souls and Shadow couldn’t allow this. He brought the bottom of his scythe down on the ground and let tremors ripple through the floor of Hell.

“We’re on our way to demon placement. You can get back to what you were doing now.”

The torture demons saw the scythe and looked at each other. They almost decided to risk it, but they saw Shadow and Leech continue back on their path and returned to torturing their victims. The soul-shattering screams resumed as the continual background music of Hell.

Once they were out of sight of the torture demons, Leech, who was in front of Shadow, turned and started to walk backwards.

“Dude, I thought they were going to kick our asses.”

“Don’t call me dude either.”

“Sorry, Shady.”

Shadow started to look angry and Leech decided to change the topic.

“So if we had gotten in trouble with those guys, would your uncle have come in to save us?”

“Probably not. I don’t think he’d approve of me messing with the torture demons. They aren’t under his command. It would be an inter-departmental nightmare if he tried to get me out of that shitstorm. It’s probably best we don’t mess with them anymore.”

“Well who can we mess with and get away with it?”

“Leech, you shouldn’t be messing with anyone.”

“I’m not going to be stuck as a minor demon for eternity. I’ll mess with whoever it takes to get up to at least middle demon.”

“What if you have to mess with me?”

Leech grinned.

“I won’t have to. You’re going to promote me as soon as you climb the ranks, right? That’s what friends are for.”

“You aren’t my friend, Leech. You’re just a pain in the ass.”

“Hey now. I’m going to help you out later, remember? The least you could do is have my back when you move up in the Hell hierarchy.”

“Prove yourself and I’ll think about it.”

“And we’re back to me messing with people to prove myself. I win, Shady.”

Shadow grabbed Leech by the back of the neck, kicked his legs out from under him, and brought him down, face first, on the ground.

“You’ll mess with whoever I tell you to when I decide I need you to. God, don’t you ever shut up?”

Shadow saw Leech’s face form a grin and couldn’t help but smile himself. Leech might be annoying, but he had guts and he wasn’t afraid to do what needed to be done to move up. It seemed that Leech had been born with an ambition that his father probably lacked. Shadow helped Leech back to his feet and hit him across the back of the head.

“What if the first demon that picks on me is a lot bigger than you?”

“I have a scythe.”

“Can you fight without it?”

“Of course. My uncle put me in combat training when I was little and my dad...”

“What happened to your dad was bullshit. My dad always said he was the most skilled demon he ever...”

“Don’t talk about him like he’s not around anymore. I’ll get him out someday. I don’t even care if I have to kill Satan to make it happen.”

Leech looked horrified.

“I’m gonna let that go and pretend I didn’t hear it, but you really need to watch what you say. We’re not even minor demons yet.”

“Well, it’s the...”

He didn’t finish his sentence. They had arrived at the demon placement trials. Shadow could see all the places his father told him about when he was younger: the labyrinth, the death pit, and the human tempting chambers. Every few seconds a new horrible scream pierced the walls of Hell. Each scream was unique, even if it was only slightly different from the last. Shadow smiled as he saw the group of demons-in-training and their instructor. Most of them looked terrified. When he turned to face Leech, he wasn’t smiling but he did appear to be calm.

“Time to make a name for ourselves.”

“Yes it is, Leech. Yes it is.”

“L
ate on the very first day. Apparently neither of you wants to become real demons any time soon. Your names?”

“Leech and Shadow.”

“Shadow? Cain’s nephew? You must be... look at you walking around with a scythe.”

The instructor opened his hand and Shadow could feel the scythe being drawn away from him. It covered the distance between them and fell into his instructor’s open hand.

“You didn’t really think Cain was going to give you his scythe, did you? I received a letter from him this morning letting me know that I was to confiscate it and replace it with this.”

The instructor handed Shadow a long, dark sword. It looked ornate with blood-red veins and the handle was made from a human skull, but it was nowhere near as powerful as the scythe he had been carrying. Several of the other demons-in-training smirked at him and a few were brave enough to laugh but they stifled it when the instructor turned their way. The instructor handed the scythe to another demon, one of his assistants.